Press Releases, 10/13/2017 | Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland

Foreign Minister Soini to Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Luxembourg

Press release 179/201713 October 2017

The EU Foreign Affairs Council will meet in Luxembourg on 16 October. Finland's representative at the meeting will be Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini. The topics on the Council’s agenda will be Turkey, Iran, North Korea, and EU policy on human rights.

The Foreign Ministers will discuss the situation in Turkey, focusing on the rule of law and human rights in the country as well as on its regional role.

In addition, the Foreign Ministers will discuss the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Iran’s nuclear programme, taking into consideration the most recent positions of the United States regarding the JCPOA , expected to be announced before the FAC convenes. The Foreign Affairs Council will confirm the European commitment to the JCPOA.

The Council will also address the recent developments in North Korea and adopt additional autonomous restrictive measures by the EU towards North Korea. Finland considers that the EU should, for its part, support efforts aiming at finding a solution to the security questions related to North Korea’s ballistic missile programme.

The Foreign Affairs Council will also have a debate on the EU policy on human rights as a part of the Common Foreign and Security Policy and on the EU’s action on international human rights forums. Finland’s objective is to improve the efficiency of foreign politicy decision-making in the EU with regard to human rights matters.

The Council will also adopt a new EU strategy on Afghanistan and decide about the launch of a new European Union civilian crisis management mission in Iraq (EUAM Iraq), which will support the security sector reform in Iraq.